Pakistani airstrikes targeted locations in Afghanistan's Kunar and Helmand provinces early Thursday, with Islamabad reporting the deaths of 22 militants linked to groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Balochistan Liberation Army.

Afghan Taliban officials and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the strikes hit civilian homes instead, killing at least nine or ten people, most of them children, and wounding others.

Pakistan's Ministry of Information described the operation as well-planned and based on credible intelligence, stating that targets were destroyed with precision and that weapons and ammunition were also eliminated. The ministry emphasized that the action addressed threats originating from Afghan soil.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strikes as aggression that violated accepted principles, adding that three houses were destroyed in the attacks on Chugam in Shultan district of Kunar and Safar in Garmser district of Helmand.

The UN mission confirmed at least 10 civilian deaths, mostly children, along with nine injuries, noting that its figures come from independent assessment.

The strikes represent the latest escalation in tensions between the two neighbors, with Pakistan repeatedly accusing Afghanistan of harboring militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. Afghanistan has denied providing sanctuary to such groups.

Cross-border violence has produced more than 1,100 civilian casualties in Afghanistan this year according to the United Nations, underscoring the ongoing security challenges along the shared border.

Pakistan maintains that its operations focus exclusively on terrorist infrastructure and form part of a broader campaign against militancy.